Monday, April 30, 2012

I think this is the most Hollywood publicized pregnancy symptom, but, in reality, at least for me, in now way the most significant one. These people really should have asked how my intense nausea, insomnia, bloody noses, sore boobs, and gastrointestinal system was doing.

But regardless, they ask about my cravings.

And my response is that at this time, "I'm ruling OUT foods, much faster than I'm ruling them IN". The list of foods I can't stand to look at include:

1. Broccoli

2. Chicken in any form

3. Salmon (or the smell of any fish)

4. Saltines

And as far as cravings, I pretty much always have had cravings. My whole life. This doesn't feel much different, except that I've allowed myself to give into more of the cravings.

So when, at 9:00 at night, I decide that I want a cookie at Perkins, normally I would have talked myself out of it, or MORE likely...Jeremy would have talked me out of it.

But now, we go to Perkins for the cookie.

And park in the senior citizens parking spot.

Because this is way past their bedtimes.

And I order a crazy cookie. YES...a crazy cookie. One half sugar, the other half chocolate chip. That is one crazy smart cookie.

But really, honestly, I would have wanted a crazy cookie before the Franklet. The only difference is that now I have an excuse to want a crazy cookie at 9:00pm.

Friday, April 27, 2012

First, thank you all for your amazing support! Even from total strangers who read my blog. Your comments put a smile on my face. I am so grateful for every single one of you.

Life has changed since we found out the Franklet was on its way. Not drastically, but in some interesting ways. The drastic changes arrive in late October. For now, we deal with the interesting changes.

1. Protective dogs. Our pups seem to notice that something is up. A whole new level of clingy has set in for our two beloved pups. They must be next to me or on me at all times. Particularly in the mornings. They used to play in our room, chase toys and wrestle while I got ready for work. Now, they sit, on the bathroom floor, watching me. Eyes glued, watching my every move.

When I sit on the couch...they are there. The power of the canine.

2. Food/morning sickness. I still contend that morning sickness is a horrible term for what happens. At least for me. It did not occur solely in the morning, and it was less of a 'sickness' more of an 'illness'. It's more like the worst hangover of your entire life mixed with additional gastrointestinal distress, that does not go away for 5 weeks. I ate macaroni and cheese, white rice, bananas and buttered noodles for about 5 weeks.

While my friends dined on Chinese takeout, I dined on this meal, of apple sauce, bananas and white rice. Yum.

3. No more drinking. This one hasn't been a biggie for me, it was more the cultural stigma of not drinking at social events. I work in an industry that tends to have a lot of Happy Hours, sporting events etc...which involve alcohol. I mastered the art of pulling the bartender to the side and asking him for a "soda water with two limes, and make it look like an alcoholic drink, don't put it in a gigantic glass".

My amazing friends are also thoughtful enough to order fun "mocktails" for me, which make me feel like I'm part of the fun. Turns out I don't really miss the alcohol.

4. Sleep. Jeremy thought I might be the 1 person on Earth who wasn't going to be exhausted in her first trimester. I typically have boundless energy and it's pretty hard for me to slow down. NOT THE CASE. I have never been so exhausted in my entire life. There were multiple days that I almost called my mom or Jeremy to pick me up from work because I was too tired to drive home.

When I was particularly tired, and annoyed that I was tired, my friend Debra would remind me, "Uh, you are making ears...you have a reason to be tired". The next time I complained, she would say, "You are making a nose...take a nap!" True. Turns out making ears will make you tired.

5. Exercise. I am a bit of a workout nut. I LOVE my hot yoga classes. However, no matter how many different doctors and nurses I ask, every single one says, "Absolutely no" to hot yoga. Still, I continue to ask, waiting for someone to say yes. But for now, they all say no.

So I've been taking some maternity yoga classes, which are nice, but they're not the same. I miss Corepower Yoga.

Those are the major changes for now, all welcome changes. (well maybe not the morning sickness, but the rest of them) There have been a few others, which are less blog-appropriate. Like incessant bloody noses. But I didn't think you all wanted to read about those. Wooops, I just made you all read about them.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

You may have noticed that I have not been a very consistent blogger lately. You may have also noticed that my topics have been, well, lame. There is a reason. A very good reason. The reason is that I'm a terrible liar. And the only thing that I have been thinking about, was the only thing that I could not share...

Until now...

Jeremy and I are very excited to announce that we have a little Baby Frank (Franklet) on the way!!!

Yes, I did take 6 different tests. 3 Different brands. Just to be 100% sure. You can never be too sure.

And then we had the great joy of sharing the news with our family...via pasta sauce...wrapped in gift wrap.

And so here begins a whole new chapter of life! And blogging! I hope you will come along for the ride. It has been quite a ride already. I have been just bursting at the seams to share with all of you. I will try to share a few of my 1st trimester stories over the next few weeks, but for now, I have to share the initial story.

After I took 6 home tests, I still felt that I wanted to go into the doctor for a 7th, and final test. Jeremy and I went to the doctor's office later that day, giddy with excitement. Well, I was giddy, Jeremy was, as usual, being very efficient with his emotions.

I took the 7th test at the doctor's office...clearly, it was positive!

We not yet considered when this baby would be due.

We sat down to meet with the nurse, as my doctor was in surgery (though I did ask if he could step out to meet with me. Yes, I now realize this is ridiculous, at the time, it did not seem that way.)

The nurse took out her little wheel, dial, thingey to determine the Franklet's due date. She twisted the wheel left, then right, our eyes peeled on her dial like it was about to determine the fate of our lives. Which it basically was. And then she landed on a date...

October 31st.

And of course, this the only vision that came to mind.
Doctors and nurses, delivering my baby, dressed up in costume. The crayon is the one who puts in my IV. the guy in the pig/bunny suit would be the doctor. Fred Flintstone would be my nurse. And the space guy would be the anesthesiologist.

Yep, a guy in a pig/bunny suit is going to deliver my baby.

A Halloween baby!

Docs, please leave your costumes at home.

Stay tuned for more updates! Thank you for your patience these last 3 months as my blogs have been boring. But really, what do you say when you can't talk about the one thing you WANT to talk about?!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

As I have mentioned before, my dogs, Punky and Stanley have
a stuffed monkey toy that they love dearly. It is an old stuffed animal of mine
from childhood. They carry it everywhere with them. They take it outside to
pee, they set it down next to them when they eat, and this monkey never leaves
their side. One of the two pups has it at all times. They love the monkey.

However, the monkey has fallen into a sad state of
disrepair. Having a bit of foresight, Jeremy and I knew that it would be a sad
day when that monkey was fully destroyed and we had no replacement. We have
tried to give them similar but different toys, and they have no interest. They only
want their stuffed monkey.

So, I started googling the monkey to see if I could find
another, identical monkey.

And this is when I found out the terrible, unfortunate news.
Well terrible for us, probably great news for other monkey owners in the world.

The dear, beloved monkey toy, is listed as one of the “Most
Expensive Beanie Baby toys in the world”.

Yes, our dear, beloved monkey was worth $4,000. Particularly
rare if the monkey, whose official name is Nana the monkey, has a tan tail. Our
Nana the monkey has a tan tail.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

How amazing is this floor? It's recycled barn wood. I love it. I keep gazing at this picture I took of it, installed in one of our tenant's suites.
I'm in love.
It will be used in our next house.
Yes, I know you all think I'm crazy, but there will be a 'next house'.
And it will likely not be move in ready.
What's the fun if you can't make it your own!?

Monday, April 16, 2012

Last week we celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover. I'm really not sure that 'celebrate' is the correct word for the activity. We refrained from eating leavened food. (here is the story...in case you are not familiar Story of Passover).

I enjoy leavened food (bread, cereal, croutons, oatmeal etc...). Honestly, I don't normally eat that much of it, but when you are told that you cannot eat something, then it is basically all that you want. That's just the way the world works. You want what you can't have.

And so, in honor of the completion of Passover, Jeremy and I each ate a gigantic, delicious, amazing, cupcake.

It seems like an appropriate way to thank the Israelites for wandering in pursuit of our freedom. Cupcakes. We are very thankful that we are free, and now free to eat cupcakes.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Those are examples so that you have a picture in your mind for the following story.

This past weekend I received a phone call from a tree service that I had called to remove some dead trees/bushes (see previous post) in our back yard. I was rushing to get ready for the gym and the tree guy called my cell phone, but I didn't get my phone in time. Moments later our doorbell rang and I was sure it was the tree guy, so I sent husband, Jeremy, to the door to talk to the tree guy.

Doorbell rings....Jeremy answers the door.

Jeremy stares at the man waiting at the door.

Tree Guy (in a very juvenile tone): Hello! Is your mommy home?

Jeremy stares back at him, confused for a moment, and then understanding: Uh, do you mean my wife? Kara?

Tree Guy: Uh, yea, um....let's go look at the trees.

And the best part? The tree guy was no more than 38 himself. Husband is 30. Tree guy is 38ish. Really??

Monday, April 2, 2012

Life changing, I know. I just went to the gas station to pick up our winnings and I think the cashier thought I was nuts for coming all the way in to pick up my $3.00. Little did she know, I was beyond excited and proud that I had won.

Hey...$3.00 is $3.00.

And I proceeded to spend a portion of it on a Cadbury Carmel Egg. Easter candy is so short lived. One must enjoy it while it lasts.

About Kara Leigh Frank

I'm just a girl in my 20's trying to find my way in the world and leave it a little better than when I came. I love to laugh, hopefully that will become abundantly clear if you read my blog. I also firmly believe that life should not be taken too seriously, you could say that's my motto. Minnesota girl - enjoying life - trying to figure it all out.

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What began as a wedding blog has evolved a bit. I began to write about my stumbles through wedding planning, and found that it had little to do with said topic. Rather, it was an outlet to describe some of the ridiculousness that tends to follow me. So, with that, and with the wedding behind us, I will charge on. If you will continue to read. If not, I will likely still charge on. Charging, writing, blogging, to myself. So read please!